The Fortunes of Texas: The Secret Fortunes

“Of course I am,” Olivia insisted. “Why else would she stay if she didn’t love him?”

Sophie had been asking herself that very question for some time now, and the more she did, the more she considered the idea that their mother might be hiding something from the whole family. But since that was only speculation, she was hardly going to mention her suspicions to Olivia. And she definitely wasn’t going to comment about their father anymore tonight. In Olivia’s eyes, Gerald Robinson could do little wrong. She’d chosen to forgive and forget about his philandering. Probably because Olivia happened to be one of their father’s favorites and he doted on her even more than he did Sophie.

Instead she switched the conversation back to her dream man.

“Thom is handsome and dynamic,” Sophie told her. “And I plan to make him mine by Valentine’s Day.”

“Exactly what does your plan entail?”

Sophie walked over to the cheval mirror and twisted her hair into a loose knot atop her head. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to change who I am. I’m only going to tweak the outside a bit. Maybe some highlights in my hair or some new clothes. Some sexy knee-high boots might do the trick.”

“And when you do catch his attention? Then what?”

Sophie smiled confidently at Olivia’s image in the mirror. “Then he’ll begin to look at all of me. Not just the outside.”

With a rueful shake of her head, Olivia warned, “You are headed for disaster, my dear sister. Thom Nichols wants two things from a woman. Sex and money. He’s hardly interested in finding the love of a lifetime.”

Sophie’s lips pressed into an angry line as she turned to face her sister. “Go ahead and be cynical and negative. Do your best to make me look foolish just because I want a man to love and for him to love me!”

Olivia threw up her hands in a gesture of surrender. “I give up. I can see this is something you’re going to have to figure out for yourself. And far be it from me to ruin your quest for love.”

“You’ll see,” Sophie countered with conviction. “By Valentine’s Day I’m going to have my man.”

“I hope you do get the right man—for you, that is. And I hope by Valentine’s Day you’ll begin to see the whole picture. Presently, this crush you have on Thom is giving you tunnel vision.”

Sophie frowned with confusion. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“The only man you see in front of you is Thom. You might allow yourself to look around a bit. You might find out that Mr. Right is someone else.”

Sophie scoffed. “I’m not shopping for high heels. I know what I want when I see it. I don’t have to keep looking for another man. Thom is perfect for me.”

A wan smile on her face, Olivia leaned forward and kissed Sophie’s cheek. “It’s getting late. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

As Sophie watched her sister leave the bedroom, a tinge of sadness began to push her frustration aside. A few kind words of encouragement from Olivia would have been far nicer than a prediction of failure. She’d made it sound like Sophie didn’t have enough sense to differentiate between a skirt chaser and a gentleman.

Sighing, Sophie sank onto the edge of the bed and plucked a family photo from the nightstand. The framed image was one of the few pictures that included all her brothers and sisters. With their busy lives taking them in all directions her whole family wasn’t often together. But this particular photo had been taken at their parents’ twenty-fifth wedding anniversary and everyone, including Charlotte and Gerald, looked happy. Yet that had been eleven years ago, long before anyone knew about Gerald’s hidden identity or his affairs.

A year ago, her older brother, Ben, had been instrumental in uncovering the truth. Their forceful father, one of the most famous tech moguls in the world, wasn’t really Gerald Robinson. He was Jerome Fortune, a member of the famous Fortune family. As if that wasn’t enough of a stunner, during the investigation, Ben had found a thirty-three-year-old illegitimate son of Gerald’s named Keaton Whitfield living in London.

Since that time, their newly discovered half brother had moved to Austin and started building a rapport with all his siblings. Sophie had to admit she liked Keaton and didn’t begrudge his place in the family. Yet the whole revelation of her father’s other life had shaken her to the core.

All at once she’d had to accept the fact that her father had never been the man she’d believed him to be. And as for her mother, who could possibly know why Charlotte had hung around for all these years? It sure as heck wasn’t for love as Olivia had suggested.

Face it, Sophie, your parents are phonies and so are you! The only reason you have an important position at Robinson Tech, or anything else for that matter, is because of your name. It certainly hasn’t come from your brains, or beauty, or hard work. The sooner you realize the truth, the better off you’ll be.

Disgusted with the degrading voice in her head, she put the photo back and squeezed her eyes shut.

If her parents were shams, then their marriage was even more of a joke, Sophie miserably concluded. So what did that make their children? Mere symbols of a fake love? Moreover, what did it make Sophie?

Her lips pressed into a determined line, Sophie looked over at the clothes she’d tossed onto the bed. In one aspect, Olivia had been correct. The outside of her wasn’t nearly as important as the inside. Yes, she wanted to look just as attractive as her sisters and all the other beautiful women of Austin. But she also wanted everyone to see she was more than just the youngest child of a famous and wealthy family. And she was hardly a fool for wanting the same genuine sort of love that her siblings Ben, Wes, Graham, Rachel and Zoe had found, she thought.

By Valentine’s Day, Thom was going to see she was worthy of him. And then everything she’d ever wanted in her life was going to fall into place.

Chapter Two

“They make a nice-looking couple. The office heartthrob and the boss’s daughter. Can you think of a more perfect pairing than that?”

“Yeah, about a million of them,” Mason muttered under his breath.

“What did you say?”

Mason forced his gaze away from Sophie and Thom, who were sitting together at the far end of a long utility table. In the past year he could count on one hand the times he’d seen Thom taking midafternoon coffee in the second floor breakroom. Which could only mean that Sophie had gone to work on her plan and persuaded him to join her.

Mason looked over at the platinum-haired woman sitting next to him. Nadine had been working in the programming department for many years, long before Mason had ever taken a job at Robinson Tech. Divorced and somewhere in her forties, she pushed the envelope of the company’s dress code, but her flamboyant appearance belied her shrewd mind. Even though Mason had graduated in the top half of his college class, he didn’t possess half the knowledge about programming that Nadine held in that sassy head of hers.

“I said they’re all wrong for each other. Totally wrong.”

Nadine turned a frown on Mason. “You don’t say? How did you come to that conclusion?”

Mason squeezed the foam cup of cold coffee so hard it nearly collapsed in his hand. “It should be obvious,” he said. “Everyone in this building knows he’s a player.”

Nadine shrugged. “So? Maybe that doesn’t bother Sophie. Besides, when I called them a couple I didn’t mean it literally. Geez, Mason, lighten up. The two of them are merely having coffee together. Not discussing their marriage vows.”

If Nadine had heard Sophie talking last night about snaring Mr. Right, she wouldn’t be making light of the situation. Couldn’t Nadine see how Sophie was leaning her head toward Thom’s and smiling at him like he was the last male on earth? It was more than obvious that she was on a serious mission to catch Thom Nichols. And what was even clearer was that Mason couldn’t just sit around and watch himself lose the lady of his dreams to a no-good womanizer.

“I wouldn’t be so sure,” Mason muttered as he studied Sophie from the corner of his eye. Today she was wearing a short black dress that resembled a sweater. The fabric outlined her petite curves while black suede boots with chunky heels fit snugly around her shapely calves. A pink-and-black printed scarf hung around her neck, as did dangling jet bead earrings. She looked more than lovely, he decided. She looked downright sexy. And the fact that it was Thom who, at the moment, was receiving her undivided attention clawed jealously at Mason.

“Why, Mason Montgomery, I do believe I hear a green streak in your voice,” Nadine declared. “Are you interested in Sophie Robinson?”

“Fortune Robinson,” he corrected. “Remember? The family discovered they’re actually a part of Kate Fortune’s bunch. You know—the famous cosmetic heiress.”

Nadine nodded. “I remember about a year ago when the news came out about Gerald. But I keep forgetting about the kids tacking on the Fortune name.” Pausing, she clicked her tongue. “Poor little Sophie. She’s such a sweet girl. It must’ve been hard on her—learning all that scandalous stuff about her father.”

Mason could hardly imagine how it would feel to learn your father was actually someone you never knew. His own dad was a hard working pipeline technician for a gas and oil company in San Antonio. Hadley Montgomery had always been a strong anchor for Mason and his two older brothers. Finding out he’d had a secret life would shake the very ground Mason walked on.

“I imagine Sophie and her siblings have tried to keep a stiff upper lip through all of it,” Mason replied. “After all, they can’t help what their father has done.”

Mason suddenly heard Sophie’s light laugh at the far end of the table. The happy sound cut straight through him and he wondered if he was destined to become a fool over women. It hadn’t been that long ago that Melody had broken his heart by deserting him for another man. He was an idiot for thinking things could be different with Sophie. She was already so besotted with Thom Nichols it was like she was wearing blinders.

Nadine’s shrewd chuckle momentarily distracted him. “Well, the revelation about Gerald most likely made all the siblings richer than they were already. Can you imagine how it must feel to have that sort of wealth? They’ll never have to worry about paying a utility bill or wondering if they can afford to eat more than macaroni and cheese for supper.”

Along with her crush on Thom Nichols, Sophie’s wealth was one more wall standing between them. But Mason was determined to knock down those obstacles and clear the path for a chance with her.

“Sophie might be filthy rich, but she’s not a snob. She works very hard.”

Nadine shot him an impish smile. “How would you know? I never see you cross the hall to HR. You always have your head buried in your own work.”

If Mason explained to Nadine that he often spotted Sophie working late at night, then he’d also be admitting he had a habit of staying long after quitting time, too. And Nadine might misconstrue things and get the idea that Mason put in overtime just for a chance to see Sophie alone. Which was completely untrue. Until last night, he thought sheepishly.

“For your information,” Mason said matter-of-factly, “the state bird of Texas is the mockingbird and we have plenty of them flying around the building. They tell me lots of things.”

“Pertaining to Sophie, I presume.” Nadine picked up her smartphone and pretended to swipe. “I’m going to find the best psychiatrist in the city of Austin. Hopefully a doctor can help you with this bird disorder you’ve developed.”

Shaking his head, Mason shoved back his chair. “My coffee is cold. I’m going back to work. Are you ready?”

Groaning, Nadine ran a hand through her wispy blonde hair and glanced around the room. “Sure, I’m ready. There’s no men around here giving me the goo-goo eye anyway.”

Mason smirked. “If a man was, you’d promptly tell him to go stick his head in a garbage can.”

Nadine laughed. “Not if he was the right man.”

Mr. Right. Mason was sick of hearing that term and even sicker of picturing Thom Nichols as the definition.

He rose to his feet and started to follow Nadine out of the breakroom, when behind them, Sophie suddenly called out to him.

“Here’s your chance,” Nadine whispered. “Better go say hello. I’ll see you later.”

Feeling like a nervous teenager, but trying to be cool, Mason walked to the end of the table where his dream lady and Mr. Heartthrob were chatting as though they’d been friends forever. To say this was a fast turn of events would be putting it mildly.

“Hi, Mason!” she said cheerfully. “I saw you leaving and wanted to say hello before you got away.”

“Hello, Sophie. Thom.” He smiled at Sophie then forced a polite glance at Thom. The other man reminded Mason of one of those handsome movie stars who always played the hero on screen, but in reality couldn’t do so much as change a flat tire if a dozen lives were depending on him. “How’s the coffee?”

“Great,” Thom quickly answered and gestured to the small thermos sitting in front of him. “Sophie brought her own special brew from home and talked me into trying some.”

Mason wanted to knock the leering smile he was giving Sophie right off the other man’s face. Instead, he focused his gaze on Sophie.

“Good planning,” he said sagely. “About the coffee, I mean.”

Color swept across Sophie’s cheeks and Mason knew she’d picked up on his subtle comment.

“I try to think of the little things. They make the work day go brighter,” she said with a wide smile, then looked adoringly at Thom. “Did you know Thom is heading the marketing for your new sports app? The media blitz he’s planning is bound to make it a huge seller.”

Mason had rather believe the app would be a huge seller because he’d developed a good product. Not because of a slick talking salesman who could convince folks on Galveston Island to buy a set of snow chains.

Mason said, “I like to think Sports & More is a worthwhile project that deserves plenty of marketing.”

“You’re lucky, Mason,” Thom spoke up. “Mr. Robinson made the decision to spend a bankroll on the marketing for Sports & More. You must have done something right this time. I love sports, but to be honest, I perform better on the dance floor than I do the gym floor.”

In Mason’s opinion, the grin Thom was giving Sophie could only be described as lecherous. Which made it even more puzzling to Mason as to why she’d want a guy like Thom in her life. But women viewed things differently than men, and clearly she was seeing something in Thom that Mason was missing. Whatever the reason for her infatuation with the man, Mason couldn’t just stand passively around and watch this beautiful woman get her heart crushed.

“I’m sure you’ve had lots of practice doing the...hustle,” Mason replied.

Sophie’s brows arched upward, but she didn’t make any sort of reply. Thom merely let out a cocky laugh. Mason decided he should make a quick exit before he really insulted Thom and made both of them angry.

Glancing at his watch, Mason said, “Well, my break is over. Nice to see you two.”

Once he’d returned to his desk, it was only a matter of seconds before Nadine sauntered into his cubicle and propped a hip on his desk. “Okay, what happened? Did you score points with the girl?”

Frowning, he tried to focus on the computer screen in front of him, but the only thing in front of his eyes was Sophie. “I wasn’t trying to score points. Which is just as well. I came close to calling Thom a creep right to his face.”

Nadine groaned. “Let me give you some advice, Mason. The more you toss insults in Thom’s direction, the more she’s going to defend him.”

He turned and glowered at her. “I know that much. It’s just that whenever I’m around the guy I get the urge to vomit. And then things start coming out of my mouth before I can stop them.”

“Look, my friend, if you’re really interested in snagging Sophie’s attention, you need to forget about Thom Nichols and start concentrating on how to make yourself more appealing to her. If you do things right, she’ll start looking at you instead of him.”

“You think so?”

“Trust me. You have loads to offer a woman.” She patted his shoulder. “I better get to work. Wes has assigned me the job of coming up with a mother/baby app store. I can’t imagine what our boss was thinking. My daughter is twenty years old now. What do I remember about having a baby?”

“Hmm. I expect it’s like riding a bike. Once you learn, you never forget.”

Nadine laughed, causing Mason to chuckle along with her.

“Well, a person can get rusty if he doesn’t practice,” he agreed. “But you can always knock off a little rust.”

“And how am I supposed to do that? Have another baby?”

“Why not? Women your age are having babies all the time.”

Her expression softened in a way Mason had never seen before and then she reached out and gently patted his cheek. “You are the sweetest man ever. Sophie’s an idiot if she doesn’t latch on to you.”

Sweet. Mason didn’t want to be a piece of candy. He wanted to be viewed as authoritative, masculine and tough. He wanted women, particularly Sophie, to see him as a take-charge kind of guy who could melt a heart with just one smoldering look. He wanted to be more like his brothers, Doug and Shawn. Neither one of them ever had to worry over catching a woman’s attention. Their problem was trying to decide which one they wanted and on what night of the week.

But Doug was an assistant prosecutor in Bexar County, a fierce lion in the courtroom. And Shawn was a lieutenant on the San Antonio police force. They were both handsome and forceful, with jobs that women admired. Even as children, Mason had never felt as though he could compete with his stronger, older brothers. And time hadn’t changed Mason’s feelings. Sure, he had a great job and his physical appearance wasn’t exactly homely. But compared to his brothers, he was a geek.

If he ever expected to get Sophie to notice him, then he was going to have to be more like Doug and Shawn and a whole lot less like himself, he thought grimly.

* * *

More than an hour later, Mason was working when Sophie suddenly walked into his cubicle, nearly sending him into shock. The only time she’d ever stopped by his desk was when she’d personally helped him with a health insurance issue.

But it was clear this visit of hers had nothing to do with insurance. She was grinning from ear to ear and practically dancing on her toes.

She pulled up a chair and leaned her head close to his. The soft scent of her perfume swirled around him and tugged on his already dazed senses.

“Mason, I’m sorry if I’m interrupting your work,” she said in a hushed tone. “But I’m so excited I had to tell someone! And since I shared my plans with you last night—Well, it’s happened!”

Totally bemused, he stared at her beaming face. “It has?”

“Yes! Already! Can you believe it? Here I was thinking I was going to have to do handsprings out in the hall to get Thom to take a second look at me and all it took was a cup of exotic coffee.”

Mason had never felt so deflated in his life. “You two looked pretty chummy in the break room.”

“Chummy? Mason, you’re so funny.” Laughing lightly, she gave his knee a gentle squeeze. “He’s asked me out on a date! A real date! Tonight! Isn’t it incredible?”

Mason felt like handing her the letter opener on his desk and telling her to stab him right in the gut. The act would have been more merciful than the news she was giving him.

He looked into her brown eyes and wondered if they would ever shine for him the way they were shining at this moment.

“A date, huh? That was fast work.”

“You’re telling me! I only started my plan today. I never expected to have results this quick.” Her expression suddenly sobering, she glanced around the large room to make sure no one was listening. “Mason, you’re a really honest guy. Tell me, do you think Thom might’ve asked me out just because—well, because I’m Gerald Robinson’s daughter?”

Hell yes! Mason wanted to shout the words at her. But he held them back. One thing he was certain of, Sophie was a soft, gentle person. It would hurt her deeply if she thought her dream man might be using her for his own gain. Mason couldn’t do that to her. Not right now. He couldn’t bring himself to shatter the deliriously happy look on her face.

The more you insult Thom Nichols, the more Sophie will defend him. At this moment, Nadine’s words couldn’t have been more right.

Unable to keep looking her in the eye, Mason’s gaze drifted to the computer screen. But for all he could see, the words might as well have been written in a foreign language. “Oh, Sophie, I wouldn’t worry about that. Thom already has a good position in the company. He hardly needs you to help him get in your father’s good graces.”

“I guess that’s true enough,” she said quietly. “I shouldn’t have ever let the idea cross my mind. It’s just a date. Not a marriage proposal.”

Thank God, Mason thought. If that ever happened, he’d have to speak up.

“That’s true. And anyway, you’re an intelligent woman. You’d know right off if a man was trying to use you.”

Her eyes grew soft. And then suddenly without any warning at all, she leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

“Thank you, Mason. You’re wonderful!”

To his utter amazement, she pressed another kiss to same spot she’d already branded with her lips, then jumped to her feet.

“Stop by my desk tomorrow and I’ll let you know how things go,” she told him, then with a wiggle of her fingers she hurried away.

Mason lifted fingertips to the spot she’d kissed not once, but twice. The skin was still tingling as though she’d stuck a naked electric wire to his cheek. If a simple kiss to the side of his face had caused this much reaction, the feel of her lips against his would probably have him dancing like a drunk idiot atop his desk.

Darting a glance toward Nadine’s desk, he realized the woman must have seen the whole interchange between him and Sophie. She was smiling broadly and giving him a thumbs up. The encouraging signal had Mason stifling a loud groan. Nadine didn’t know Sophie had merely stopped by to announce her date with Thom. And at the moment, Mason felt too sick to set his coworker straight.

* * *

Later that evening at the Robinson estate, Sophie was hurrying to her bedroom when her mother called out to her.

“Sophie? Why are you running through the house like a child?”

Laughing, Sophie stopped in her tracks and waited until her mother caught up to her.

“Probably because I feel like a happy kid tonight. Don’t you ever feel that way, Mother? Like kicking up your heels and doing pirouettes?”

“I like to think I’m in good physical condition for my age,” Charlotte told her daughter, “but I’m not exactly ready for ballet leaps and spins.”

For a woman in her midseventies, Sophie’s mother still looked youthful. Of course, it helped that she could afford to get routine facials and have her own personal trainer, along with a chef who designed meals to keep her weight down and her skin and hair glowing.

Smiling brightly, Sophie said, “I refuse to believe that, Mother. I happen to think you could dance all night.”

Charlotte pursed her lips with disapproval. “Those occasions are long over for me, Sophie.”

Sophie frowned. “That’s nonsense. Dad doesn’t think in those terms. He still does plenty of fun things.”

“Fun,” Charlotte repeated in a mocking tone. “Your father views the whole world as his playground. That will never change.”

It was a rare occasion that Charlotte made any sort of comment about her husband. More often than not, she went about her business as though Gerald didn’t exist.

Looping her arm through her mother’s, Sophie urged her down the hallway to her bedroom. “Come sit and help me pick out something nice to wear,” she told Charlotte. “I have a date tonight and I want to look extra special.”